Thursday, November 4, 2010

New photosensitive film converts light into kinetic energy, bends when irradiated: "Living organisms depend crucially for their growth and development on their ability to assemble molecules into large, ordered three-dimensional structures. The same assembly processes offer an attractive means for designing materials and devices with novel functions, yet scientists have thus far found such processes impossible to reproduce at a macroscopic scale.
To overcome this impasse, the research group used a structure known as a “polymer brush” made up of a polymethacrylate backbone with outstretched side-chains, which together form a cylindrical shape. Azobenzene molecules, known for their propensity to deform when irradiated, were inserted into the side chains, and a free-standing cast film, created from a solution of the polymer brushes, was then tested for photomechanical response."